Free Tremor by Patrick Carman

the miles.”
    Clooger was asleep, snoring softly, and it gave the three of them a chance to talk in private.
    â€œOctober road,” Faith said as they angled slightly up on the pavement. They were heading toward Mammoth, a pass that would have been bursting with orange and yellow and green as fall approached. “This would have been a really nice drive during the day.”
    â€œYou’ll like Colorado,” Hawk said. “It’s beautiful up there. If it wasn’t for the skunks, the wolves, and those a-holes the Quinns, I’d seriously think about relocating.”
    Dylan was brooding in the corner, staring out into the endless darkness as Faith leaned in close against his leather jacket. She loved the way it smelled and how it felt slick against her cheek. Sometimes she wore the jacket, which hung heavy over her shoulders. She was always surprised at how big it was on her, how it smelled so perfectly like Dylan.
    â€œHow are you holding up?” Faith asked.
    â€œYeah, how’s it hangin’, bro?” Hawk added. “This is going to be intense. Mostly for you.”
    Dylan shrugged and didn’t speak, but they wouldn’t stop staring at him. “All in all, I think it’s a pretty good plan. I go in, act like I’m switching sides, and pretend that I think Meredith is a lunatic and a liar.”
    â€œThat part is believable,” Faith said, and then she felt like a bully for saying it. “I mean, if you don’t know her like we know her. That’s all I’m saying.”
    Dylan kept going: “I do all the recon I possibly can while you guys hold tight in the forest outside town.”
    â€œAnd if things go pear shaped?” Hawk asked.
    â€œPear shaped? What’s pear shaped?” Faith asked. She moved her arm down and held Dylan’s hand in the darkness, wishing they were alone in the backseat at one of those old drive-in movie places.
    â€œPear shaped. You know, sideways. Code red. In trouble.”
    â€œCan we stop talking about fruit? It’s making me hungry,” Dylan said.
    Hawk held out a protein bar, got no takers, and unwrapped it for himself.
    â€œMeredith said you had a communication device figured out,” Dylan said.
    Hawk set the half-eaten protein bar on the dashboard and started digging around in his backpack. “Move over, Faith, I’m coming in.”
    Hawk climbed over the seat, legs flailing, and forced his way in between Faith and Dylan.
    â€œYou need a car seat?” Dylan asked. He loved giving Hawk a hard time.
    â€œLogically speaking, a car seat would be a bonus right now. But I’m fine, thanks.”
    Hawk’s Tablet was in the small, handheld size, and he snapped it large. Soft light bathed the backseat of the HumGee, and Hawk looked up at Dylan and Faith. They were both taller and bigger.
    â€œYou should buckle up again,” he said to Faith. “This straightaway isn’t going to last forever.”
    â€œIs there a reason why you need to plague the backseat? We were having a pretty good time back here without you.”
    Hawk didn’t answer. Instead he opened a small, black box he’d brought with him and took out several items: a tube of clear gel, a set of long-nosed pliers, and what looked like a modified earring piercer.
    â€œWhat the hell are you planning to do with those, Dr. Frankenstein?” Dylan asked.
    The HumGee turned on a wide, sloping stretch of road, and Hawk’s half-eaten protein bar slid along the dashboard, bouncing against the window and into Clooger’s lap.
    â€œI’ll never see that thing again.”
    They were all bunched up together on Dylan’s side in the backseat, like three aside on a roller coaster cutting hard to the right, when the road straightened out again and they all sat upright.
    â€œI need to install sound rings on both of you, like this one.”
    Hawk moved a swath of hair away from his ear and